Gas news at a glance

GAS DRILLING DOCUMENTARY HITS TOWN ON MOBILE THEATER

A free public viewing of the film “Water Under Attack” will take place on September 6 at 7:45 p.m. near the gazebo at Veterans Park in Narrowsburg, NY. Produced by local filmmaker Josh Fox, the in-progress documentary features footage from 34 states affected by natural gas extraction, with recently added segments about Dimock, PA ( visit www.waterunderattack.com ). The film will be shown on the one-of-a-kind outdoor mobile movie theater created by local artist Dan Brinkerhoff. The showing will cap off several events that day aimed at raising awareness of issues related to natural gas extraction, including the Light Up the Delaware River Party and a River Regatta. Visit www.lizbucar.com/DelawareRiverParty9_6_09.html for more information.

WAYNE COUNTY LANDOWNERS LEASE

The Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance reports that its members have leased more than 62,000 acres of land for development of the Marcellus Shale in Wayne County, PA to Hess Corporation, which has begun working on title clearance on more than 2,600 parcels.

PA GOVERNOR RENDELL NIXES GAS SEVERANCE TAX FOR NOW

On August 31, Gov. Rendell announced he will not pursue a natural gas severance tax proposal that he previously supported this budget season. Rendell cited concerns following conversations with major gas producers who convinced administration officials that imposing the tax at this early stage could hurt the industry. The governor said he still supports the tax, but will slow its development despite the projected $90 million the tax would add to a sagging state budget. “We are going to work with the industry to try to come up with a fair plan,” he added. “We should have a severance tax, but not at the beginning.”

PUBLIC HEARING ON WATER WITHDRAWAL FROM DELAWARE RIVER UPCOMING

The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will hold a public hearing on Wednesday, September 23 on revised proposed Docket No. D-2009-20-1 for Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC. The hearing will be held at the PPL Corporation Wallenpaupack Environmental Learning Center in Hawley, PA beginning at 10:00 a.m.

Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC applied to the commission for approval of a surface water withdrawal project to supply a maximum of 29.99 mg/30 days of water for the applicant’s exploration and development of natural gas wells in the State of New York and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Surface water is proposed to be withdrawn from the West Branch of the Delaware River at a location known as the Cutrone Site in Buckingham Township, Wayne County, PA. The project is located in the Delaware River Watershed in waters designated as Special Protection Waters.

The commission held a public hearing on an initial draft of Docket D-2009-20-1 at its business meeting of July 15, 2009 in Bethlehem, PA. In light of the high level of public interest in the project, the commission took no action on the docket on July 15, and on that date it extended the written comment period through July 29, 2009. The commission and staff are developing a revised draft docket, which will be posted on the commission’s web site at www.drbc.net, on or before the close of business on Friday, September 11. Public comment is requested on those aspects of the docket that have been substantively modified. A list of these aspects will be provided on the commission’s web site at the time the revised draft is posted. Additional public records relating to the draft Chesapeake docket are available for review on the commission’s web site.

DEP DETECTS ELEVATED LEVELS OF TOTAL DISSOLVED SOLIDS IN MONONGAHELA RIVER

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced that levels of total dissolved solids, or TDS, in Pittsburgh’s Monongahela River have fluctuated above the water quality standard for taste, exceeding acceptable levels for drinking water established by state and federal authorities. Elevated levels of TDS were detected last year on the Monongahela River. TDS is a measure of all elements dissolved in water and can include carbonates, chlorides, sulfates, nitrates, sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Sources can include oil and gas drilling, sewage treatment plants, stormwater runoff, metal mining, mining, abandoned mine drainage, meat packing plants, vegetable processing plants, grain milling plants, bakeries, beverage processing facilities, agricultural chemical manufacturing, petroleum refining, leather processing, primary metal industries, fabricated metal products, electric services, refuse systems, scrap and waste material industries.

DEP has been closely monitoring TDS levels in the river since October 2008. In April 2009, DEP released a proposed strategy for new discharges of high TDS wastewater to meet an effluent standard of 500 milligrams per liter by January 2011.